3 Week Old Breast Fed Baby Not Pooping

happend to me too. my doc said for breast fed it is normal to be different all the time. that there was no magic poop number as long as they had i think it was like 6-10 wet diapers a day they were good. if you think it's causing pain for the baby, you can try putting the baby on their stomach, head to the side, butt proped up with like knees under. elevating the butt and rub on the back some magical way helps the baby expel gas. i thought my doc was nuts, but it worked.

It can be normal for a baby to not poop for up to seven days, especially if they are starting a growth spurt and using most of what is put into them. If baby is really fussy try a warm wash cloth to the tummy or use a little olive oil and massage the tummy a little to help move around gas bubbles. But be ready if they do poop I had my 4month old not poop for 6 days and then go all day long up his back down to his toes. Call your doctor if there is any "scream" crying, it's a high pitched cry that sounds like pain, it will be obvious. Please unless your Doc know you will try something like Karo syrup don't do it, along the lines you may get this advice from others. In kids to young it can throw their system into an imbalance of fluid loss that can take time to recover.

Being "regular" doesn't mean pooping every day, just pooping "regularly" so that could mean every day or twice a day or once a week. Your baby is so young that she is still establishing her normal routine. Breastfed babies can poop several times a day or once a week or somwehere in between. If you are sure her discomfort is from gas/needing to poop, I would try what you did with the pumping the legs, etc (and try warm washcloth on the belly). But I would leave things alone as far as the rectal thermometer and suppositories. They are pretty invasive IMO when a problem may not really exist. She also just may have been fussy and gassy unrelated to not pooping. Her system is still adjusting. Good luck.

It's totally normal for a breastfed baby to not poop but 1x a week at this age. They absorb all of the breastmilk and there is no waste. I would not use a thermometer to make her poop. You could inadvertantly perforate her colon that way. Keep an close eye on her wet diapers, but don't worry too much about the dirty ones. She will poop when she needs to. As long as she is exclusively breastfed, constipation is very rare.

Breast milk is so pure that they can use every bit of it during a growth spurt. You will see this several times over the next year. There is nothing to poop out, he used it all. The thing is there is also nothing to push out the poo that is in there. Stop trying to fix it, it is normal. Now when he does poop, plan on staying home that day or packing 5 outfits for the daycare! I breastfed 4 kids. The first one I freaked out on this, but not after that! They do not have to poop every day! They can go up to a week!
Good luck!

After the first few days, breastfed babies don't always poop every day. That doesn't mean they are constipated....constipation happens when they have hard stools that they can't push out.

I would not be concerned or give suppositories unless it goes about three days. There isn't a lot of waste with breastmilk. Alot of babies about that age do start to get fussier. All you can do is try the gas meds, sometimes some gripe water, and I always notice that when I eat something that makes me gassy, my baby usually is too. Also alot of times they will "save it up" and have a giant poop....it is frequently an age where "blowouts" are common.

My son would sometimes poop daily, sometimes once every few days. I would keep doing what you're doing, and hopefully she evens out a bit soon.

S.:

it is difficult to know exactly but I would want to look at your diet/ your supplements/ hers....

A lactation consultant would be able to help through this...

P., RLC, IBCLC, CST
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions

It's very normal for a breastfed baby's bowel movements to slow down, even as slow as once a week. When my daughter started having them about once every 4 days I freaked out and called my pediatrician, who is very breastfeeding friendly, assured me that she wasn't constipated and it's very normal. Breastmilk is almost entirely absorbed by the baby's body resulting in very little waste.

When my baby was taking breastmilk, he could go 5-7 days without a poop then it would be an explosion in the diaper. My prediatrician and many other sources I consulted all indicated that this was normal.

As long as she's still peeing, she should be ok. It's weird isn't it? Breastfed babies usually aren't constipated, but around 1 month they stop pooping every day. My son went seven days and I was kind of ok with that. Then he went 9 and I gave him a suppository. He filled his diaper literally three min later. Then he went another week and I gave him another suppository and it did the trick. Then I wanted to see how long it would take for him to go on his own, so I waited. And waited. And waited. 11 days later he had the most gigantic poop ever. Then a little more the next morning. I read somewhere that the record longest without something being wrong is like 21 days. If it seems like it hurts her or you are uncomfortable with it, give her the suppository. Three days is about normal between poops at that age though.

I've had the same issue with my breastfed infant and what has helped the most is adding good bacteria to my morning dose of prenatal vitamin. I also massage her back and belly when she's less fretful. Rescue Cream by Bach Remedies messaged all over her body helps relax her a lot. It can be found in health food stores like Natural Gourmet if you're in the Champaign area.

I was told several things like "it's normal" and "she digested all of the milk so she doesn't need to go". I don't agree...I know my daughter and I know when she is in pain and pain is NOT "normal". Pain means there is something wrong. Go with your gut and trust your instincts. She needs to go.

It's so hard when they're in so much pain. I pray that this gets easier for you and your infant.